Secure-IIT?
Rahul, Ashwin, Ashwin and Mayur take a closer look at the state of security at IIT Bombay
The recent spate of blasts across cities in India with increased frequency (which in no way justifies the previous less frequent attacks) have brought the spotlight on security matters like never before. And although terrorists may strike anywhere and anytime now, there are certain hotspots, where they are more likely to strike. Come to think of it, our college does belong to this group of hotspots. Now, we are not preaching doomsday here; we are just checking. Curiousity may not kill, terrorism sure does.
The IIT Campus is a city in itself. It's much more than just an academic institution. And like any other city it needs a proper security system. Our college is an “Institution of national importance” and any such sobriquet is bound to have its consequences.
The Security System of our Campus
The Institute has a Standing Advisory Committee for Security to look into all the safety related affairs on the campus. The Committee has two representatives each of students, staff and faculty to give their feedback on the security measures and bring forth their problems and suggestions to the Security Officer, Mr. Vijay Kumar. This committee is chaired by Prof. Sanjeev Chaudhari.The implementations of the security measures proposed by the Advisory Committee is done by another committee comprising the Director, the Registrar and the Security Officer. The security personnel include 5 Duty officers and 6 Safety Inspectors. The Inspectors work in shifts of 8 hours everyday supervising the three important broad areas in the campus – the Academic Area, the Hostel Area and the Gates. The size of the total workforce deployed per shift consists of around 60 security guards including the hostel watchmen and the patrolling officers.
Security Threats
The internal security of the campus has seen some minor thefts. Cycle thefts are the most frequent. Major cases include laptops being stolen. The Security Office works in tandem with the Powai Police in such cases. In the recent past four cases of laptop theft were reported of which 3 were recovered, with the crook being caught red-handed. Cases of break- ins have also been reported in the residential area. Considering that students keep all their belongings in their hostel rooms, hostels can also become targets of malicious eyes. A few years back monitors and CPUs were stolen from the Hostel-13 computer room. Other mishaps include girls being robbed of their money and belongings near Sameer. With cases of manhandling and students being forced to drink alcohol, the penalties meted out by the Disciplinary Action Committee have been as severe as semester drops.
The Measures
The Security Office believes in an open security system unlike the stringent protocols followed in other places like BARC, IISc and so on. Though the one word password for entering the campus, “Student”, may not look fancy enough for the security measures of an Institute of national importance , a thorough checking is not feasible. A possible solution to this problem is to utilise the Bar codes on the I-cards to ensure a valid profile of everyone who enters or leaves the campus. While sticker vehicles are passed with minor checking, tourist vehicles are checked thoroughly, especially during college festivals. During these times, the security is beefed up in terms of manpower. Crowd control is another important aspect taken care of by the Security Office.Certain areas have been declared restricted to everyone as a safety precaution. These include the pipeline area near H-4 because of its proximity to the water supply and the Borivali National Park. The fencing along the perimeter of the campus has been improved over the last few years owing to leopard sightings. Though a 10 foot fence cannot stop a leopard from jumping over it, the frequency of these incidents has reduced drastically. CCTVs have been installed at various points throughout the campus with the main focus being on the academic section and the gates. While the Lakeside is the only open area in the entire campus in terms of being unfenced, a state of the art camera has been installed near the Guest House that sweeps the entire bay area.
In an attack at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore a few years back, Professor M C Puri, Professor Emeritus in the Mathematics Department of IITD was killed and four others injured after an unidentified gunmen opened indiscriminate fire in the campus of the institute. The incident has put a question mark on the security of all pivotal institutes of science and technology in the country including the seven IITs. Fortunately, no such incidents have occurred in any of the IITs. In IIT Bombay we have plainclothes security personnel as part of the vigilance division of the security office. They are on a permanent pay roll throughout the year and collect intelligence from across the campus.
Our Role
Security measures have become synonymous with inconvenience and wastes of time and energy. We all know how security matters can come in way of our freedom. But we should remember that, when we get the freedom to choose, we MUST choose right. We should report sources of security lapses or suspicious activities. No one wants to live in fear. Security is an issue which is usually taken for granted but it can't be denied that it is essential for us to work and live in freedom from fear.Rahul Srinivasan is a third year student of the CSE Department, while Ashwin Krishnan, Ashwin Raghavan and Mayur Srinivasan are second year students of the Mechanical Engineering Department. They can be contacted at rahul.srinivasan@iitb.ac.in, ashwinkri@iitb.ac.in, ashwinraghavan@iitb.ac.in and srinivasan.mayur@iitb.ac.in.
